oil prices

Russia has negotiated a deal between bitter rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran to raise crude oil prices on the world market by implementing across-the-board production cuts (with exemptions) which have been long-desired by OPEC nations and which have been vociferously opposed by President Trump. However, the cuts may benefit U.S. shale oil producers who struggle to compete when market prices are low. OPEC’s move also boosts Vladimir Putin’s prominence on the world stage as the Russian strongman appears to be abandoning his close relationship with the weakening American president.

Mueller investigation

Later today, Special Counsel Robert Mueller will submit disclosures in the court cases involving Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen and his former campaign manager Paul Manafort. Although the information will likely be redacted, as was evident in the court case for Trump’s former national…

Former Claremont, New Hampshire police sergeant Ian Kibbe is charged with counts of conspiracy to commit perjury and attempt perjury, and two counts of falsification and obstructing government administration. The charges stem from an alleged illegal search and falsifying his report. Kibbe was offered a plea that was not made public, and he turned it down. Judge Brian Tucker scheduled jury selection for Kibbe’s trial to start on December 3, 2018. Trial is anticipated to last two days.

The 30-year old Kibbe was arrested in April after an investigation by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office. He was released on a $5,000 cash bail.

Kibbe’s partner, Mark Burch, was also investigated. Burch had been on the force for less than a year. Their employment with the Claremont police force ended in March. Claremont Police Captain Brent Wilmont, Chase Police Captain Alex Lee, and New Hampshire State Trooper Eric Fosterling took part in reporting that Kibbe and Burch might have engaged in criminal conduct. Trooper Fosterling is a former police office in Claremont. Read the rest of this entry →

The theme or concentration seems to be that Russia helped to have Donald Trump elected as president. What people are not addressing is WHY. It is my impression and opinion that the reason for Russia interference in the election is what Trump wants to keep hidden.

Alton Sterling was 37-years old when he was killed on July 5, 2016, in Baton Rouge, LA. Alton was selling homemade CD’s and DVD’s outside the Triple S Food Mart when Officer Blane Salamoni fired six shots into Alton at close range. Officer Howie Lake II, shocked Alton with a stun gun and helped wrestle Sterling to the ground but did not fire his gun.

In May of this year, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would not bring federal criminal charges against the officers. The Louisiana Attorney General’s Office is now investigating the case.

Alton’s children and their mothers have filed a civil suit. Attorneys representing them have requested a private viewing of videos that include police body cams and surveillance video that captured the moments before Alton was fatally shot. The Attorney General’s office has those videos, but as of October 5, 2017, have not complied with the request.

Two cellphone videos taken by bystanders captured the violent end of the encounter and were made public, but body cam and surveillance videos are in possession of the Attorney General’s office and have not been made public.

In May, the DOJ told lawyers and family members about the audio and video from the shooting, and at times described it. According to a source who spoke with The Advocate, Officer Salamoni is seen pointing his gun at Alton’s head, yelling profanities, and a threat to kill him. Read the rest of this entry →

Miami-Dade State’s Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has changed her 24 year reputation for not charging law enforcement officers for on-duty shootings. On April 12, 2017, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office announced it has charged North Miami SWAT Officer Jonathan Aledda with felony attempted manslaughter and misdemeanor culpable negligence. Aledda shot Charles Kinsey, an unarmed Black man, on July 8, 2016. Kinsey is a therapist for a group home and was trying to help an autistic man, Arnaldo Rios-Soto, to get out of the street and return to the group home.

A bystander called 911 and said Rios-Soto might have been holding a gun. That caller also repeated several times that the person holding something to his head appeared to be mentally ill. Factually, Rios-Soto was holding a toy truck.

A cell-phone video captured Kinsey lying on his back with his arms in the air, stating who he is, his job, that Arnaldo Rios-Soto is his patient, that he did not have a gun, and begging officers not to shoot.

Investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) included taking statements of police witnesses. The Miami New Times obtained audio from North Miami Police Chief Gary Eugene’s testimony to Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators. That testimony revealed that Eugene said his officers announced over police radio that Rios-Soto was holding a toy before Aledda shot Kinsey. Read the rest of this entry →

President Trump’s former national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, has told the FBI and the House and Senate intelligence committees he will testify about possible ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia in exchange for immunity from “unfair prosecution,” his lawyer, Robert Kelner, said Thursday. “General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit,” Kelner said. Flynn served as an adviser during Trump’s campaign and later as his national security adviser, but he resigned in February after it was revealed he communicated with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. before Trump’s inauguration as former President Barack Obama was preparing to announce sanctions against Russia over its meddling in the election.

The United States Department of Justice completed a probe of the Chicago Police. Its investigation was conducted over a period of 13 months. They found that the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) used biased techniques to investigate officers and a consistent unwillingness to probe or dispute officers’ statements.

The Chicago police force is one of the nation’s largest, with 12,000 officers.

The DOJ also found that the police received insufficient training in de-escalation techniques and poor training on all levels.

The investigation also found Constitutional violations, and violations of federal law by officers in the use of force, racial disparities and other systemic problems.

“The Justice Department and City Hall have hammered out a pact, called a “statement of agreement,” which will detail remedies the city has already or will be taking to address problems that have ruptured relations between police and the people they serve, particularly minority communities.”

Attorney General Loretta Lynch will be out of office on January 20, 2017, and wanted to complete DOJ investigations in Baltimore and Chicago before the new administration takes over. Read the rest of this entry →

The DOJ released its report on its investigation into the Baltimore Police Department. You can read the entire 164 page report here. I’ve also placed a link to the report on the right-side border under “Documents”.

The DOJ ends its report by summarizing its findings;

“For the foregoing reasons, the Department of Justice concludes that there is reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Constitution or federal law. The pattern or practice includes: (1) making unconstitutional stops, searches, and arrests; (2) using enforcement strategies that produce severe and unjustified disparities in the rates of stops, searches and arrests of African Americans; (3) using excessive force; and (4 ) retaliating against people engaging in constitutionally -protected expression. We also identified concern s regarding BPD’s transport of individuals and investigation of sexual assaults. BPD’s failings result from deficient policies, training, oversight, and accountability, and policing strategies that do not engage effectively with the community the Department serves. “

(I’m writing this on 3 hours of sleep, so please forgive any typographical errors.)

Kendrick Johnson

In January 2013, 17-year old Kendrick Johnson was found dead in a gym mat in the Lowndes High School gym in Georgia. The US Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia opened an investigation in October of 2013.

This afternoon, DOJ offices announced that they will not file criminal charges in the death of Kendrick Johnson due to “insufficient evidence” to prove that anyone “willfully violated Kendrick Johnson’s civil rights” or committed any other crime.

Acting U.S. Attorney Carole Rendon stated;

“The Department of Justice, in particular the lawyers and investigators who have worked tirelessly on this investigation, express their most sincere condolences to Kendrick Johnson’s parents, family, and friends. We cannot imagine the pain of their loss, or the depths of their sorrow. We regret that we were unable to provide them with more definitive answers about Kendrick’s tragic death.”

In October 2015, the DOJ filed a motion in the civil case that Kendrick’s parents filed for wrongful death. In their filings, they said that their investigation expanded to include witness tampering and obstruction of justice. They also advised the Georgia court that the grand jury had convened. Read the rest of this entry →

In an eight-page letter expressing “grave concern,” the family of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer last November, called for the local prosecutor who is overseeing the investigation of the two officers involved to step aside and appoint a special prosecutor.

The letter, obtained by The Washington Post and addressed to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty from Rice family attorney Jonathan Abady and his co-counsel, argues that McGinty has unnecessarily delayed the grand jury process and decried his decision last week to release two expert opinions on the shooting that suggested the shooting was justified.“

The delay in presenting this case to a grand jury, the decision to retain pro-police ‘experts’ and release their reports to the media on a Saturday night over a holiday weekend… and the obvious shortcomings of the reports themselves have contributed to make the Rice family feel that your office is not committed to securing an indictment in this case,” attorneys for Tamir Rice’s mother wrote in the letter dated Oct. 16. Read the rest of this entry →

Caterpillars, moths, butterflies, and all creatures great and small,

I’m trying out the Word Press feature “press this.” It is a feature where I can copy from a newspaper article and click “press this” and it puts it in a post for the blog, with attribution. It saves time writing new posts from scratch. The following is the “press this” article, followed with additional information.

Posted: Monday, September 21, 2015 11:01 amTULSA (AP) –

Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz has been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury investigating the agency after a volunteer deputy fatally shot an unarmed man. Grand jurors have been conducting a probe of Glanz’s office for the past seven weeks. At least 19 current or former sheriff’s office employees and others have been called upon to testify, including fired Maj. Shannon Clark, demoted Capt. Billy McKelvey and former Maj. Tom Huckeby, the Tulsa World reported.

The investigation was launched after former reserve deputy Robert Bates fatally shot Eric Harris, who was unarmed, on April 2. Bates has said he mistook his hand gun for a stun gun. After the shooting, it was discovered that officer Robert Bates hadn’t received adequate training over the years of his service.

Bates has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death. Glanz confirmed the subpoena Thursday after a swearing-in ceremony for 21 cadets. He declined to comment further on his upcoming grand jury appearance next week. Read the rest of this entry →

On January 10, 2013, the body of 17-year old Kendrick Johnson was discovered in a rolled-up gym mat in the gym of the high school he attended. The Lowndes County Georgia Sheriff’s Office conducted the initial investigation and concluded that Kendrick died from a freak accident. They said he was going for a shoe that was at the bottom of the mat, got stuck, and died from asphyxiation.

Kendrick’s body was subsequently exhumed and the family had an independent autopsy performed that among other things, found that all of Kendrick’s internal organs were missing, and had been replaced with newspaper. The private pathologist concluded the teen died of blunt force trauma to the neck.

Videos from inside the school were released, and caused many questions, many of which pertained to missing portions or what appeared to be edits.

In October 2013, the Department of Justice began an investigation under the direction of U.S. Attorney Michael Moore. Read the rest of this entry →

Based on the dash cam video, Sandra’s car was searched. I would like to know Texas law for illegal searches of vehicles.

News.Mic

On Monday afternoon, Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis announced the death of Sandra Bland, which was initially ruled a suicide, would be treated “as it would be in a murder investigation.” Mathis also said while the Texas Rangers were leading the investigation, the FBI was now supervising it.

“It is very much too early to make any kind of determination that this was a suicide or a murder because the investigations are not complete,” Mathis reportedly said at a press conference.

On July 10, police officers pulled over Sandra Bland for failing to indicate before changing lanes in Waller County, Texas. She was violently arrested, according to a passerby’s video, after becoming allegedly combative with the arresting officer. She was found dead in her jail cell three days later.

After discussing Bland with those closest to her and those who saw her…

Due to preliminary findings of a report, the City of Beloit has placed its police chief and deputy chief on administrative leave. Beloit, Wisconsin is a small city on the border of Wisconsin and Illinois, with a population of approximately 40,000. The city has a Manager, Lori Luther, and a city council.

Concerns regarding the leadership of the police department were expressed by its staff and the community. In February of this year, employees of the Beloit Police Department told the city council that leadership was damaging employee morale and could be affecting operations.

The city held two listening sessions for residents to voice concerns about the Beloit Police Department. The sessions were held at the Beloit Public Library, and although those in attendance might sound small with the number being around 12, the room was filled. Many attending did not want to be named, but they discussed the issues of communication between the police department and residents. Read the rest of this entry →

It’s rather insignificant because it doesn’t lead to identifying who killed 17-year old Kendrick Johnson, but it’s significant in the sense that there are consequences for people who break the law.

You might remember about the anonymous email purporting to have overheard a confession in the killing of 17-year old Kendrick Johnson. We reported it in March 2014.

The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous email dated January 27, 2014. The sender did not suggest that he or she witnessed the confession. Rather, the sender claims to have been given that information by someone who purportedly is aware of the confession by a person implicated in the email. Read the rest of this entry →

“A Justice Department review has found that the troubled Ferguson Police Department engaged in a pattern of racially biased enforcement during suspect stops and used unreasonable force against a disproportionate number of African American suspects, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the findings.”

Ferguson Chief of Police Thomas Jackson

The results of the investigation were detailed in a meeting between Ferguson and Justice Department officials on Tuesday. The full report should be released by tomorrow.

The Black population in Ferguson is 67%. However, the Justice Department conducted an investigation that covered 3 years, and found that 85% of people involved in vehicle stops were Black; 90% who received tickets were Black, and 93% of those arrested were Black. Were they all guilty? No. The Justice Department found that police in Ferguson routinely made arrests without probable cause. Blacks were twice as likely to be searched during vehicle stops but less likely to be found in possession of contraband. Read the rest of this entry →